Waiting On God

Waiting

I have a problem with patience. It’s not my strong suit. I hate waiting in lines. I hate waiting on anything. I’m sometimes guilty of finishing people’s sentence when they are slow talkers. Patience is definitely not my thing. Nor does my patience seem to improve with age, in fact quite the opposite. The older I get, the more I struggle with waiting. The Lord still has some refining to do on me in that area. I’m no better at waiting on the Lord than I am anything else. His word is quite clear on this subject. He instructs us over and over to wait on him, to be patient and wait on his answers and his solutions. The Psalms are full of his instruction. Psalms 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord...” plain and simple. In Psalms 130: 6 the psalmist says he waits for the Lord, “more than the watchman for the morning”.  Psalms 147:11 says the Lord favors those who, “… wait for His lovingkindness”. God expects us to wait. He expects us to be patient. He will reward us if we are faithful and faith includes waiting for him… waiting for him to answer or to act in our lives. Isaiah 40 proclaims the coming of the Messiah (Holy One, vs.25) and ends with these words of comfort, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary”.

That’s what it’s really all about, isn’t it? We want God to answer when we call, and he did. He sent his son to save us. The world waited for the coming of the Messiah, and in the fullness of time, God sent him. He sent him when the time was right, when everything was set. When all of the other pieces of the puzzle were in place, then he placed the missing piece and revealed his Son, Jesus the Christ.

 I’ve been reading the Christmas story again in scripture. I love to read it again and again and look for new layers of wisdom as God tells me the story, as a father tells a child an old favorite story. In Luke 1 we read the story of the birth of John the Baptist, who would announce the coming of Christ. Luke tells us that his father and mother were righteous and faithful to God (vs. 6). His name was Zacharias and he was a Levite. She was also from the tribe of Levi and was from the lineage of Aaron (vs. 5). Luke tells us the story of God’s revelation to Zacharias. While he was performing his duties in the temple, burning incense, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that God had heard his prayers, and he would have a son. Now Zacharias was  old, as was his wife Elizabeth. They were well beyond the normal age for bearing children (vs. 7). How long do you suppose it had been since Zacharias had prayed for a son? If you were a man, who was married and wished to have children, you would of course pray for children, if you were a man of God. How long and how often would you pray for this… every day? How many years would you pray? I’m sure that both Zacharias and Elizabeth had prayed many hundreds of times, maybe thousands of times for many years, but now they are old, and they no longer expect to have children. They must have assumed that God didn’t want them to have children. Perhaps he was punishing them for some failure or sin in their lives. I’m fairly certain that this idea had been suggested and discussed by their friends, family and neighbors, perhaps behind their backs, perhaps to their faces. Being barren and childless would have carried with it a stigma in the society that they lived in. There was disgrace associated with being childless according to Luke (1:25), and I think we can assume that both Zacharias and Elizabeth had stopped waiting on the Lord to hear that prayer. They had given up on God in that respect, and even though they remained faithful, they no longer expected God to answer that prayer. So what a shock and surprise it must have been when God announced to them that He  had heard their prayers, prayers long forgotten, but not forgotten by God. He had answered their prayers in his own good time, when the time was right, and now they would be parents. Not only would they be parents, but their son would be a prophet, and the prophet who would announce the coming of the Messiah, in the spirit of Elijah (vs. 17).

We can’t really blame poor Zacharias for his failure of belief, for which he was temporarily struck dumb by Gabriel (vs. 20). Haven’t we done the same thing? Haven’t we doubted God? Now, I realize that angels probably haven’t made any announcements to you lately, nor have they visited me. But we are still guilty of giving up on God at times. Not only have we stopped praying, like Zacharias, sometimes we have even forgotten what it was that we had prayed for. But God does not forget. Nothing slips his mind. He hears our prayers, and he will answer them, in his own good time, in the fullness of time, when the time is right.

What are you praying for these days? What did you use to pray for? What did you pray for when you were young, and life was full of promise, and everything seemed possible? What did you pray for then, but you don’t now? Now that you are old, and maybe a little disappointed in the way that things turned out. Maybe you never met that Mr./Ms. Wonderful. Maybe you didn’t make it to the pros. Maybe you didn’t earn your first million before you were thirty. Maybe you haven’t earned your first million at all, and it doesn’t look likely, unless that lottery ticket pays out. Have you given up on God? Did your particular wish get lost in the shuffle? Did God forget? Worse yet, maybe he just doesn’t care.

Please, please don’t give up on God. Just you wait. He cares. He cared enough to send his Son to save us. “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…”- Galatians 4:4. “”And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth”- John 1:14. He doesn’t forget, even if we do. He remembers every prayer that we have ever prayed, and he keeps them all. He wants us to have every good thing that we need. He will not fail us or forget us or accidently leave us behind, or leave us out. He can make anything happen that he wants to happen, and he wants good things to happen for us.

 Luke 1 has another very important lesson to teach us on this subject. The angel Gabriel also appears to Mary, and tells her that she will conceive (miraculously) and give birth to a child, and her child will be the Messiah (vs. 28-35). Gabriel then informs Mary that even her cousin Elizabeth is pregnant (vs. 36). Her cousin Elizabeth, who was too old to have a baby, was also going to have a baby because of God’s power, and then God (thru Gabriel) tells Mary something very, very important. He says, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (vs. 37). Nothing is impossible with God! Mary needed to hear those words, and so do we. God is good and faithful and he loves us and he doesn’t forget and he can do anything. Nothing is impossible with God. We need to write those words on our hearts. We need to get up every day and say them to ourselves and to those around us, because they are true, and we need to live our lives like we believe that they are true.

 We need to know him (thru his Word and Spirit). We need to follow him (thru his Son). We need to obey him. We need to trust him, and finally, the hardest part… at least for me, we need to wait for him. We need to wait for him in our lives and in our faith and in our prayers.

He’s waiting for us too… imagine that! God is waiting for you and for me. He’s standing close by, waiting. The words of the old hymn tell us this.

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

You see, God has given us a choice. He wants us to choose him. He wants us to choose to love him and obey him. He won’t act in our lives unless we first choose him. If we don’t want him to be in our lives, then he won’t force it. He will allow us to be on our own. But the invitation stands, as long as we live and breath, God is waiting and watching for us.

The bible tells us that God is waiting for us too. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door; I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with me”.

The bible says, in Zechariah 10:8, “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them”. Like a shepherd whistles for his sheep in the darkness. He’s calling us. He’s waiting for you and for me, to answer his call. He wants to be with us. He wants to know us. He came a long way to find us in the darkness. We don’t have to wait anymore. We just have to open the door. We just have to answer his call. He’s waiting.

Intersections

I believe that you can make a good case for the following proposition: God uses people in his plans and purposes. If this proposition is true, then we should be prepared for whatever God would have us do, and whatever he has planned for us.

 

I believe that he brings certain people together at certain times, in certain places, and he works through them. Now I don’t mean that these events are necessarily world-shaking events, but neither do I think that we are in a very good position to judge the significance of these events when they occur. We should treat every intersection, every chance meeting, every seemingly mundane event as if it is an opportunity, because it is. Every time we are brought together with other people, every time we meet a stranger, every time we meet a friend, or loved one, we have an opportunity to affect them for good. We have an opportunity to fill a need, to encourage, to lend, to love. We have an opportunity for God to work through us, if we will let him.

 

 It sort of boggles the mind to think of all of the billions of people in the world, milling about, bumping into each other, and heedlessly going about their business like a bunch of ants. But we are not ants. We are created in his image. He is seeking our participation in his purpose, and in his will. He is not in time, as we are. We live in a linear reality. If you think about it, all of our analogies about life involve moving forward along a straight line. Life is like a road, or a train. We are constantly moving forward; looking back at the past, and trying to peer forward into the future, and always stuck right in the middle, in the present, in the moment. But God sees it all at once, the whole parade of human history. He knows where we are headed, even if we don’t. He knows we are going to stub our toe on the dresser, in the dark, next Thursday. He knew it a millennium before we were born.

 

 God works his will in the world in three dimensions: people, place, and time. He creates a time, in a place, with a group of people that he has brought together, to accomplish some work, or to move his purpose in a certain direction, or sometimes…just for pleasure, just for fun! Who says God is not concerned with pleasure and with fun? Who says that pleasure and fun are not legitimate reasons for God’s concern, and are not important in God’s creation?

 

I call this convergence of people, time, and place, an Intersection. Can you think of any intersections in your life? Can you think of any such convergence of certain people, in a certain place, at a certain time, coming together, according to God’s purpose? The Bible is full of examples of these intersections. Human history in general is full of these intersections, but the purest examples of intersections that come to my mind are the family, and the church.

 

Who doesn’t believe that God had a hand in bringing them together with their true love? I know this in my own heart, as well as I know anything. There is no doubt in my mind, that God answered my prayers, and the prayers of my wife. In the fullness of time, when we were both prepared for it, he brought us together. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to imply that we are not capable of steering the wrong way at these intersections. God allows us to exert our own wills, in all matters of the world. So his purpose is not always served when an intersection occurs. Often a wreck occurs instead! God could make us do his will, of course. But he doesn’t. He allows us to choose, and sometimes our choices negate his will and purpose, often resulting in unrequited love, or wars, or other similar human tragedies.

 

The church is a perfect example of an intersection, if ever there was one. What a wonder and a joy it is to watch God bring people together, in a place of his choosing, at a time of his choosing, knowing that the seeds have been planted for the harvest of the gospel to grow! What a powerful force is the will of God, when people all work and pray in harmony to achieve it! And what a fragile force is the will of man, when we take our eyes off the cross and begin to seek our own.

 

What an opportunity we have when God brings us to an intersection! What an exciting thing it is, to realize the potential for affecting the lives of others for Christ. What an honor and a privilege it is to be an instrument in the hand of God, in the building of his Kingdom.

 

We can prepare for these intersections. We can prepare ourselves by praying for God to use us, by praying for his will to be done in our lives. We can prepare ourselves by studying his Word, to be used as a beacon, a lamp for those that we meet at that intersection. We can prepare ourselves by acquiring a loving heart, a God seeking heart, a need seeking heart, a serving heart. We can prepare ourselves by seeking his will, and watching for the next intersection. It’s up ahead, just around the next bend. Who will you meet there? Jesus will be there, and you. God only knows who else will be there, and only God knows where it will lead, or what you will be called to do. Prepare yourself.

 

 

                                                                                                M.J. Smith

                                                                                               

My Home Town

Well, it's Christmas Day. We have finally tied up all of the packages with bows and finished the baking and all of the other making and it's time to settle down and just look and listen, maybe read the paper, call some friends and family in far away places, watch the kids or grand kids playing with their new toys, maybe have one more piece of that fudge or fruit-cake.

What a crazy ride it is every year, just getting to this day, and then it is all over, and we put away the ornaments and take down the lights and forget about the baby Jesus until next year. I hope that's not the case with you. I hope that you will keep Jesus in your life through the winter and spring and through summer and fall. I hope that you will follow him all the way down the dusty road... through the Judean hills into Galilee and back again to Judea and then finally up to Jerusalem for Passover and out there to that lonely hill called Golgotha. I hope you will wait for him outside of that borrowed tomb and rejoice in his Resurrection! You can follow him through God's Word. If you read a few chapters every day you can read through the whole bible in a year. You can follow him in the Holy Spirit if you will believe in him and be obedient in christian baptism.You can follow him through Faith and fellowship with the body of Christ. You can follow him all of the way home, if you just choose to stay with him and follow him wherever he leads you, because if you follow him, he will lead you home... to the only true home that we have.

I wrote this poem one day after reading another poem, a much greater poem by a much greater poet. My humble poem was inspired by G.K. Chesterton's "House Of Christmas" (You can read his wonderful poem on my 12/9/12 post on this same blog). Christmas is about going home isn't it? Christmas isn't very joyful without home and hearth and loved ones near. Christmas is about being home. Ultimately, that's what this whole life that we live is about... finding a home. Chesterton says it so well:

To an open house in the evening,

Home shall all men come,

To an older place than Eden,

And a taller town than Rome.

To the end of the way of the wandering star,

To the things that cannot be and that are,

To the place where God was homeless,

And all men are at home.

 

The trick is figuring out how to get home again... how to find our way back home, to our "home town". The answer of course is simple, just follow Jesus. Simple, but not so easy... huh? Merry Chrstmas, y'all. Here's hoping and praying you find your way home thru the darkness. You're gonna need a light.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. - Isaiah 9:2

 

MY HOME TOWN

 

In my hometown nobody’s homeless.

There’s rooms galore, everybody’s got jobs.

No orphans, no lonely, no mobs.

 

In my hometown no one goes hungry.

There’s feasts everyday, and sweets a plenty.

Nobody is in pain and nobody lies.

Nobody is bewildered and nobody cries.

 

There are no cops, cause there’s no robbers.

There’s no regulators, cause there’s no need.

Everyone lives in harmony,

No hatred, no lawsuits, no greed.

 

I aint never been there. I aint never seen it.

But I know there’s a place for me there.

My future is won, see I know the boss’s son.

His Word and his promise I bear.

 

Sounds pretty good, now don’t it?

Why don’t you come along?

I’ve got his word on it,

And he’ll never steer you wrong.

 

Don’t waste your time looking for it,

Because it’s a place beyond time and space.

It’s on a distant shore, in another land,

A place of majesty, grand.

 

There’s just one way to get there,

And it’s a long hard journey.

You can’t buy a ticket,

Nor can you work your way,

And even if you sold all you had,

The fare’s too much to pay.

 

The road is narrow and steep,

Rocky and rough, thru mists dark and deep.

A rough wooden cross marks the way.

It shows us the toll’s been paid.

There is no win without cost,

Our victory’s won thru his sacrifice made.

 

And we are to follow and bear our own crosses,

Planting them where we are told.

Helping our fellow along the way,

The weary, the young, and the old.

 

The fork to the left looks easier, straighter.

The fork to the right, less dangerous, lighter.

But keep to the narrow way,

Enter friend by the straight gate,

And you will win your prize one day.

 

One day, over a rise, beyond the last hill,

Steeples and spires in a golden vale,

And we will arrive at the gates of pearl,

Trumpets will blow, and banners unfurl,

Angels parading, legions of millions,

Creatures of wonder, heavenly minions,

Announcing our coming to the Lord’s host.

Where the meek rule, and the least are most.

Burdens will be lifted, backs unbending,

All weariness, pain and fear, ending.

And we will be clothed in robes of white,

Crowns will be placed,

Radiant, shining, cleansed in light.

 

And we will live by a glassy sea.

And God will wipe away our tears.

Eternal rapture it will be.

Forever in his presence near.

Together, forever, you and I.

Beyond the rainbows,

Beyond the sky,

Lies my hometown.

 

 

 

MJS

1/16/09

 

 

The Coming

May The Lord bless your gatherings this Christmas Eve. May his Spirit abide with you. May he watch over your coming and going in safe journeys. May his light illuminate the darkness of this fallen world in which we reside for now. May he provide plenty amidst famine. May he provide healing amidst sickness. May he mend the broken-hearted. May he bring forgivness amidst the hatred. We thank you Lord for coming and we joyously await your reappearing.

 

 

 

 

 

The Coming

 

A cold winters night,

A strange heavens light,

An uncharted star,

A beacon, so bright.

A backwater town, forgotten by all,

Save those who remember, those who hear,

The ancient voice of the prophet’s call.

Stars glisten,

Brilliant, shining.

Angels listen,

Poised, pining,

Ready to rush,

Terrible beauty,

Waiting and watching,

Sentinels duty.

Shepherds waking,

Startled, quaking.

Hearts pounding,

Chests heaving,

Worshipping,

Bowing,

Hearing,

Believing.

The stillness is broken,

A child cries.

Satan shudders,

Knows his doom,

Regrets his lies.

 

A Child is born,

A Son is given,

The Son of man,

The King of Heaven.

Immanuel,

Come to save us.

Jesus child,

The gift God gave us.

 

                       

                                                                                                MJS

                                                                                                December, 2007

           

Mary's Song

 A lullaby for thee I sing,

Whose ears have heard heavens voices ring.

A manger low for thee to lie,

Whose hands have wrought the earth and sky.

 

The angels look in awe and wonder,

That God has sent his son down yonder.

 

Oh what wonder now I feel!

That God has sent his son to heal,

The wounds of sin, the souls of men.

 

 

                                             MJS

                                             12/92

 

God Loves you, Merry Christmas!

I'd like to tell you a story about a very special person. For the sake of the story, we will just call her "Susie".

Susie has had a hard row to hoe. She is a single mom. She has some physical disabilities. She is blessed with a loving mother, but is from a fractured family. She is well acquainted with poverty. She has struggled with sin in her life, including chemical dependency, among other things.

Despite these challenges Susie is blessed beyond measure. She is blessed because she is a disciple of Christ. She is a living example of the love of Christ and what it is and what it does in the world, and what it means to call yourself a Christian. She is also a teacher... not because she is a biblical scholar or a great preacher, but because she shows the love of Christ in her life. That's the most important kind of teaching in the world. Edgar Guest said, "I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon". By that he meant, I'd rather see someone living Christ than talking about Christ. The bible tells us to be "doers of the Word" (James 1:22). That's what Susie is. She is a doer of the Word. She is a doer of Christ.

Let me tell you why this is true. Susie is a member of a church. Sometimes she has trouble making ends meet and so now and then her church family provides some help to her. A while ago her church family gave her some gift cards to buy food and other stuff at some local stores. One day Susie was at the store buying some things for her family and when she was done she walked outside and on her way to the car she spies a person in the parking lot. It's not important to describe this person. It's not important to describe all of the signs that presented themselves to Susie. Suffice it to say that what Susie saw was a person who was in need, a person who needed help. A brother/sister in need (which is to say, a stranger in need). So what did Susie do? She reached into her pocket and she pulled out one of the gift cards that she had received from her church family, and she handed it to this person in need and she said, "God loves you, Merry Christmas!".

Now I want you to think about that for a minute. This girl didn't have enough money for her own family, but she gave of her wealth to a stranger! She didn't have a surplus of wealth to give away, but she had something more important. She had a wealth more important than money. She had Faith! Her faith in Christ resulted in an outpouring of agape love, which resulted in her sharing this gift. A gift of true love. Now no one knows the impact of her gift, no one that is, except the person who received it and God. Susie's faithfulness may have had an impact far beyond the few dollars that were received by that stranger. Who knows what affect that love gift and those words of encouragement had on that life, at that moment in time? God knows. He knows, because he works through us to do good in the world. He works through us to show Christ to those who are still in darkness.

Now it isn't much of a hardship for most of us to give gifts to those that we love, and we don't mind giving gifts of charity to those in need, through the office, or through church. We hear the bell ringers and we drop a few coins into the little red pot when we come out of the store, and we feel good about what we have done. But what if we decided to give of our wealth... to really give to those that God presents to us. What kind of difference might we make in the world if we really gave of our treasure? What a difference could we make if we decided to give like Susie did! Jesus makes note of this kind of giving. The Gospel of Mark tells the story of Jesus' observing and commending this kind of sacrificial giving by the widow in the temple (Mark 12:41-44). If a "widow's mite" can be used of God to make much good in the world, imagine what God would make of our gifts, if we would just give them. Imagine what good would be done in the world if our faith were as mighty as the faith of the great ones... like the widow, like little Susie.

Give to a stranger and then tell him, "God loves you, Merry Christmas!"

Give a gift this Christmas. Give of your wealth. Give of your time and talent. Give without expecting anything back. Give without anyone knowing. Give a gift like he gave to you... like he gave to me.

Christmas Without Cathy

I lost a really good friend about ten years ago. I still think of her often. I tend to think of loved ones past during Christmas. This one's for you, Cathy.


 

Christmas will be a little dimmer, a little less joyful for me this year, since I lost a good friend. Cathy loved Christmas and all that goes with it. She loved to laugh and sing and talk… maybe even gossip a little. She loved late night television shopping on the Home Shopping Network. She loved good food, good music and good books. She loved life.

 Her humor and cheer were infectious. When Cathy laughed, everyone laughed. It was simply irresistible.  I often came to see her, with the intent of cheering her up, to minister to her, if you will. I would usually leave feeling a little guilty, knowing that I was the one who had benefited most.

She was the bravest person that I have ever known. She refused to be defeated by disease, or suffering, or lost freedom of movement. She knew the true value of things that I take for granted every day. She woke up, faced her situation, and lived her life every day with love, courage, and vitality, in spite of the difficulty and the pain.

Most people approach the age of 40 with some degree of trepidation. Cathy considered it a personal victory. Every day of life was a new record for her, a personal best, as they say in the world of athletics.

I know that I shouldn’t be sad, because Cathy isn’t here to see another Christmas with me. I can’t help it. I miss her. It helps to know that she is seeing her first Christmas in Heaven. I hope that I can share it with her some day.  I can’t imagine what glories are present there to see. I’m sure that Cathy is seeing them all, experiencing the unimaginable delights. I have no doubt that she has joined the choir.

After she has rested a while, I think God will call Cathy to him. I think he might say, “Cathy, I have a very important job for you.” “I want you to teach the angels to laugh.”  No one could be more qualified for the job. Only someone who has suffered can truly be joyful. Maybe that was her secret, Lord knows she suffered so. When I think of her though, I remember her cherubic smile, her sprightly humor, and her laugh. I can still hear it.

 Yea, I think the angels are in good hands with Cathy as their instructor. I wonder what it sounds like, when an angel laughs?

 

                                                                                                            MJS

                                                                                                            12/13/02